Naperville cops call off search for man

January 15, 2003

Police have called off the search for an 83-year-old man missing from his daughter's Naperville home since Dec. 27.

For more than four hours Tuesday, officers from several police agencies, including Illinois State Police and the Naperville Police Department, combed the woods near the 1500 block of Westminster Drive in Naperville, where Eugene Scott of Chicago was last seen.

A New Year's Eve search, which included bloodhounds, a search plane and a team of 60 people, also was conducted.

The case will remain open, but police will not mount another search party, Naperville Police Sgt. Joel Truemper said.

Scott's picture is on posters tacked to Metra stops in Naperville, police have handed out fliers to dozens of businesses and almost 2,000 area homes have received a reverse-911 call from investigators with a taped message describing the man.

Scott is 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark green coat, a blue fleece shirt, black pants and boots.

A retired electrician who lives in the 700 block of East 79th Street, Scott is described by those who knew him as ruggedly independent and a bit of a loner.